TRAILER TOGS!

May 15, 1938

Lucille Ball posed for a fashion shoot promoting recreational clothes.  On May 15, 1938 the Miami (FL) Daily News printed the fashion spread with supplemental articles by Women’s Page Editor Grace Stone Hall.

At the time, Ball was about to start shooting RKO’s The Affairs of Annabel (her 39th film), which would premiere later in September 1938.  A week prior saw the premiere of Joy of Living (her 36th film), in which she had a supporting role. Meanwhile, Go Chase Yourself (her 38th film), had premiered on April 22 and was still in cinemas nationwide.

 

Bob Thatcher was also an RKO contract player. His one and only credit is a background role in RKO’s Carefree (1938) starring Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, which was in production when these photos were published.

The Hartford (CT) Courant had used some different shots, less stylishly edited, when it printed the photoshoot on May 1, 1938, two weeks earlier than Miami Daily News.

Miami also didn’t see Lucille making breakfast in her dirndl! Sausages, no doubt!

It seems odd that Miami, a place known for its beaches, did not include Lucille in her swimsuit!

Courant readers got to join Lucy on the links with this outfit.

Hartford also got to see Lucille all dressed up for that one night out of the trailer!

In Hartford, Lucille has changed into her shorts to help Bob Thatcher light the campfire!

TRAILER TRIVIA!

Perhaps not coincidentally, also in 1938, Lucille Ball co-starred in Go Chase Yourself, a film that featured a scene inside of a runaway mobile trailer.

The film even incorporated the trailer into its marketing materials.

Several months after filming this picture, Ball also spent much of her screen time inside of a mobile trailer in the film Next Time I Marry (1938).

This film also used the trailer to sell the movie: “Love In A Trailer!”

In 1949, Lucy got to take a trailer vacation as Liz Cooper in “Vacation Time” (aka “Trailer Vacation to Goosegrease Lake”), episode #41 of her radio series MY FAVORITE HUSBAND. George convinces Liz to go on a ‘trail’ trip using his co-workers trailer, even though she wants to spend the summer at a resort. Being a radio show, her wardrobe for the ‘trip’ didn’t really factor into things!

Lucy finally got to dress for the trailer trip of a lifetime in the 1953 MGM film The Long, Long Trailer.  Unfortunately, her character was not as practical as the Lucy in the photo shoot, and her green checked dress takes a beating when the kitchen cupboards fly open min-transit!  Safe to say that the film did more for trailer travel than anything since…at least 1938!

In 1968, Lucy lived in a trailer as  Agnes Kubelsky in “Jack Benny’s Carnival Nights.”  Lucy’s down-market wardrobe took the glamor out of show business for busy Agnes, Jack Benny’s mother!

Not technically a trailer (more a recreational vehicle or camper), Lucy Carter made a road trip where wardrobe was a factor on a 1969 season opener of “Here’s Lucy”.